I loved all your comments yesterday about eating the bugels – that they basically cancelled out my workout, which is true. But I’ve come to the decision that I have to be stronger than the food. I am in control, not the food. And yesterday I was tested – at work?
Yep, cinnamon rolls, black and white cookies AND brownies. Just so you know I have already deemed those goodies as insulin worthy. But you know what? I told myself “you can’t have them.” Of course, I said that to myself about 50 times, but I didn’t eat anything! Mark one NSV for me!
Breakfast was kind of thrown together – I had 2 ounces of flank steak leftover, so I scrambled that with 1/2 cup of egg whites, some baby spinach and 1 tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese, and served them on 2 sliced refrigerator biscuits – it made four small open face breakfast sammies. Breakfast comes in at 263 calories, 9.2 fat, 13 carbs, .4 fiber and 29 protein.
I am busy at work!! It makes the day go by so much faster, but I got busy first thing so my phone had to take on camera duty at my desk.
At lunch I decided to do the treadmill, but do a hill climb. I ended up going 45 minutes at 12% incline at 3.2 mph. I have to tell you, I was pretty sweaty in the end and my quads are letting me know today how hard they worked.
I had two cups of my tomato basil soup left and decided to morph it into something else – kind of like a lasagna soup almost – 2 cups of the soup, chopped baby spinach, 1 cup cooked orachette pasta and 1/4 cup of the leftover sloppy joes from the night before and a dollop of the provolone sauce on top – so good! 485 calories, 10.7 fat, 73 crabs, 4.5 fiber and 21 protein.
Later in the afternoon my boss and I deemed it ice coffee day – we have just regular cocoa mix now, so this glass comes in at 72 calories, 1.5 fat and 12 carbs. And in case you are wondering, I am one of those people who doesn’t clean up the dishes on their desk until the end of the day.
Before I met Tony, I had never heard of chicken marsala or chicken vesuvio – both are some of Tony’s favorite dishes. I was looking through an old Cooking Light magazine over the weekend, and they had a recipe for pork marsala. Why have I never thought to use anything but chicken?
I’ve adapted the recipe a bit – feel free to add two chopped shallots to the garlic, and I’ve scaled this to serve two. The nutrition for the pork (4 oz chop) and 1/2 the sauce is: 242 calories, 6.8 fat, 15.4 carbs, 1.1 fiber and 27 protein.
Pork Marsala for Two
- 3 tablespoons of flour, divided
- 2, 4 ounce pork loin chops, fat trimmed
- 1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic
- 1/2 a package of mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine or dry sherry (I actually used sherry and Tony liked it better than Marsala!)
- salt and pepper to taste
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1.5 tablespoons of flour to a plate – I seasoned my flour with salt and pepper, as well as my pork chops. Dredge the pork chops in the flour. Spray your pan with Pam. Add pork to pan, about 3-4 minutes per side – it will cook again in the sauce to finish.
Remove the pork. Add garlic and mushrooms to the pan – when the mushrooms start to release their moisture, add the remaining 1.5 tablespoons of flour and cook for one minute. Add the chicken broth and sherry, using a whisk, bring to a boil and smooth out the sauce. Cook for 2 minutes until it starts to get thick.
Return the pork to the pan, put the pork on one side to get into the sauce, then flip to the other side and cook for 2 minutes, or until desired doneness. Pork can be pink people – it’s okay!
Yums! This was so good. The pork was tender, the sauce was delicious, especially served over the mashed potatoes – and I even ate some of the mushrooms – they are growing on me! With the pork, 1/2 the sauce, 1 cup mashed potatoes and the broccoli, dinner comes in at 483 calories, 11.5 at, 54 carbs, 6.2 fiber and 36 protein.
Stats for the day:
- 1303 calories, 36 fat, 153 carbs, 1.1 fiber and 87 protein
- 47% calories from carbs, 25% fat and 28% protein
- average blood sugar 181 (still on prednisone!)
- 45 minute treadmill, 12% incline
Happy Hump Day – make it a great day!
It’s very clear Tony is Italian 🙂 I know both dishes but only had the chicken marsala.
I’ve never heard of chicken vesuvio either before! That sounds like a tongue-twister. I so prefer pork to chicken, so I’d totally dig that pork chop marsala!
Nice job passing up those delectable treats. Recently I walked into work to find a bag of mini Reese’s PB cups. I made my coworker hide the bag. Certain things I can pass up, but others are still really challenging. I’m working on it though.
I would have been powerless against those black and whites…just sayin! Way to go with the willpower, biz!!
I would have never thought to make pork marsala either…I mean, chicken, veal, but never pork! Loooooks wonderful though!
Had to look up Chicken Vesuvio as I’d never heard of it before. Came across a steak version…now *that* was super drool worthy!
GREAT NSV, Biz!!!
Chicken marsala is one of my favorite dishes ever, so sweet and savory and delicious. Pork is a great idea for an alternative, I have duh moments like that all the time, don’t worry 🙂
I am still looking for a creamy tequila sauce to recreate your favorite chicken – haven’t found one yet though, but when I find one, I’ll let you know!
Yeah I think it’s easiest for me to just not have the dangerous stuff in the house. If I constantly had a bag of cookies I would definitely be eating them every night!
Yay for not eating the treats yesterday though – when I see stuff like that I don’t even say “you can’t eat that” I say “you don’t eat that” – I heard it makes your brain less likely to give in. I don’t know if it is actually more effective but it usually works 😛
Thanks Maggie! 😀
Yowza, what great looking work snacks. I’ll send you my resume, maybe I can get a job with your company. HA! Maybe I should work on my international work visa first! 🙂
Happy Wednesday Vat!!!!!
Hope your mood has lifted by today Roz – hugs!!
I don’t think I’ve ever had chicken marsala, let alone pork masala, but it does sound good! Great job avoiding the empty calories at work. Every day is a battle!
Congrats on your ribbon at the state fair! Loved reading about it, and I thought your tablescap was so cute!
Great job in resisting those treats! Workplace treats are hard for me 🙁
You go girl! Good job staying out of the goodies. Tomato soup is my favorite. I want to swim in it- so good! Your add ins are fabulous.
I have no issue at all not touching stuff at work. None. But I have to say I agree with Shelley that if I keep finding myself tempted by crap at home, I just stop bringing it in the house. I buy snacks Mr. Helen likes but that I’m not tempted by and leave it at that.
I love marsala – chicken, pork, veal – it’s all good!
It only works on Tony’s side because if I bring in spicy shit, he won’t touch it with a 10 foot pole – about the only snack I won’t eat of his? Pork rinds – ew!
Those are evil yet tempting sweet people you work with. I love baked sweets but not too sweet if that makes sense.
I made your breaded chicken from 9/6 and it was a hit. My family was in love with the “gravy” for the chicken.
You do come up with some very interesting combinations of stuff you throw together. Happy middle of the week.
Winning! Glad they liked it Kym! 😀 Happy hump day too!
I love marsala . . . but didn’t know it could be that easy to make! This is definitely going on my list of ideas to try in the future. 🙂
I’ve practically made your menu next week 😀 Let me know how it turns out!
Good for you for not snacking on the cookies or brownies. I guess I am lucky that I don’t really care for sweets. I am hooked on your iced coffee too, love it! The pork marsala looks really good. I hope the mushrooms aren’t really growing on you! 😉
I usually don’t gravitate to sweets either, but both cinnamon rolls AND brownies – come on! 😀
I agree with you about being stronger than the temptation of food, but for me, I wanted my house to be a “safe zone” where I didn’t have to deal with being tempted – that’s why I advocated getting rid of the Bugles and other snacks like it. But what works for one person doesn’t always work for the next, so kudos to figuring out what works for you.
Yum on the pork marsala – I’ve only had it with chicken, but great switch!
I am back at work and am resisting the lure of the chip bag. AND I’ve not touched the chocolate at home for a week. I have been tracking my calories with MyFitnessPal, so right now I’m staying strong.
Good luck back to work Marcia – at least you are only going half days, so that’s good! Hope the baby is doing well! 😀
AMAZING NSV yesterday! That’s huge!
Your iced coffee looks so delicious & creamy – a perfect afternoon snack!
That’s a lot of temptations! That’s great you were able to resist.
I usually have willpower once, but if 3 goodies came my way it would be tough.
That pork marsala looks phenomenal. And such a good serving for under 500 calories. 🙂